


Pillowtalk

by awaywiththefairies



Category: DBSK | Tohoshinki | TVfXQ | TVXQ, JYJ (Band)
Genre: BFF!Jaesu, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-01-02
Updated: 2014-01-15
Packaged: 2018-01-24 12:18:57
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 18,186
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1604915
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/awaywiththefairies/pseuds/awaywiththefairies
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>With his best friend now a lovesick idiot, and his own social life practically non-existent, Junsu's idea of a good time does not include getting dragged along on dates, and Changmin only succeeds in making things worse.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

“Su! Guess what?”  Jaejoong shouted as he jumped on Junsu’s bed.

Junsu groaned and tried in vain to hide under his pillow, but quick fingers pried it away from him.

“What,” He said with as much interest and enthusiasm as he could muster, which was none at all. He tried to resist looking at the glow of his alarm clock, fearing the numbers it would show him, but eventually gave in. Too many zeroes and a three blinked at him and Junsu could have sworn the thing was enjoying his misery.

It was dark in his room, but he could practically hear Jaejoong pouting at his response, so he sighed and turned to lie on his back.  After he had shifted a bit to make room, he reached out blindly and pulled Jaejoong down next to him. Their friendship was saved when Jaejoong gave his pillow back, and made himself comfortable.  Soon enough they were in a familiar position; Junsu on his back and Jaejoong on his side, turned towards him. He could hear Jaejoong breathing next to him, and it wasn’t evening out and slowing down like someone falling asleep.

“Tell me?” He mumbled, fighting to keep his eyes open. It wasn’t like he could see anything, but he knew that if he closed his eyes he’d merrily wander off to dreamland and be faced with an incredibly annoyed Jaejoong in the morning.

“Yunho just asked me on another date!” Jaejoong whispered, but somehow still managed to sound excited.

Junsu smiled. The two had been dating for quite a while now, but Jaejoong still acted as if it was a world-wonder every time Yunho wanted to see him again.

 “When?” He was too tired to form sentences but he didn’t think Jaejoong would mind, if he even noticed at all.

“This Friday,” Jaejoong replied and happily rambled on about what they might do, not noticing the shift in Junsu’s mood right away.

Junsu bit his lip to keep quiet. They were supposed to do something together this Friday and it had taken quite some time to find a day that suited them both. With the difference in their schedules they didn’t see much of each other, even though they lived together, and Junsu was starting to miss his best friend. On the other hand, he didn’t want to ruin this for Jaejoong. He hadn’t seen his friend this happy in ages.

“Su, what’s wrong? Are you asleep?” The second question sounded rather threatening and Junsu was quick to shake his head.

“No, it’s nothing.  Have you met Yunho’s friends yet?” Any question about Yunho usually got Jaejoong talking again, but this time it remained quiet a little bit too long.

“I just told you,” Jaejoong said slowly, half sitting up in the bed. “Something’s wrong. Tell me.”

Junsu sighed. This was definitely one of the downsides of being friends with Jaejoong for such a long time. That, and he just sucked at lying.

“We were supposed to hang out Friday,” he said softly.

Jaejoong was quiet for some time and lay back down before he spoke again. Junsu couldn’t see his expression in the dark and for a moment he was tempted to turn on the light even though it would blind the both of them.

 “I’m sorry Su, I forgot. I’ll call Yunho tomorrow to cancel.”

The disappointment was audible in Jaejoong’s voice, although he did sound genuinely sorry as well. Junsu shook his head again. “No, it’s okay. I mean, we live together after all. We can find another day.”

The silence that followed wasn’t as welcome as it would have been only minutes earlier. Junsu tried to relax again and pulled at his pillow to get it back into the right shape.

“Are you sure?” Jaejoong asked uncertainly.

Junsu stared at the dark ceiling and nodded, knowing that Jaejoong would be able to tell.

“Oh, you could come with us!” Jaejoong said after another minute of uncomfortable silence. The statement was accompanied by an arm around his waist and Jaejoong’s head on his shoulder. Jaejoong seemed happy with his own idea, but Junsu laughed as he shifted to accommodate the best friend that was now clinging to his side.

“Sorry Jae, but I’m not spending my Friday as a third wheel. I’ve seen how lovey-dovey you two are.”

He could feel Jaejoong’s lips curl up against his shoulder and had to smile as well. The two really were a sight to behold when together, completely lost in their own world.

“Hmm, we’ll see,” Jaejoong mumbled against him sleepily. Junsu snorted but didn’t reply. With Jaejoong next to him it was okay; he still had his best friend. With a last sigh, he closed his eyes and let himself fall asleep again.

\---

“Why are you still not dressed?”

Junsu turned around to look at Jaejoong, incredibly confused. He had just gotten out of bed, and was about to settle in for a lazy morning, and possibly afternoon. He thought sweatpants and an old shirt were plenty dressed for that.

Jaejoong, however, huffed in frustration and pulled at his arm, trying to get him to away from the couch and his cereal. “Hurry up, we have to leave in five minutes!”

Junsu resisted. “Leave where? Didn’t you have a date with Yunho?”

The expression on Jaejoong’s face went from agitated to happy. Way too happy. Even before Jaejoong had opened his mouth to answer, Junsu knew it wouldn’t be good. He was distracted enough to let Jaejoong drag him the last few steps into his bedroom.

“Yeah, and you’re coming with me,” Jaejoong said as he pulled Junsu’s closet open and started to go through his clothes, pulling out several items.

Junsu’s heart sank. “Jae, I told you-”

He was cut off by some clothes thrown at his face.

“I know, I know. I do listen, you know?” Jaejoong said as he pushed the last bits of the chosen outfit into Junsu’s arms. The determined look in his eyes was enough to let Junsu know that now was not a time for embarrassment or complaints. As soon as he started changing, Jaejoong continued.

“Anyway, Yunho is bringing his best friend, so this way we can both get to know each other’s friends, although he already met you of course, and you won’t be the third wheel,”  Jaejoong smiled in satisfaction, though Junsu couldn’t decide if it was because of the outfit he was now wearing or because of his plan.

After Jaejoong had pulled his fingers through Junsu’s hair several times, he gave him a once over and nodded. “You look good.”

He had to take Jaejoong’s word for it, since he didn’t get time to look in a mirror, but Jaejoong knew better anyway, even though he felt slightly uncomfortable in the clothes he was wearing.

\---

Junsu’s worst fears became reality when it turned out that Yunho’s friend would be late. They hadn’t been sitting in the café for even five minutes and already Jaejoong and Yunho were whispering to each other and laughing quietly, holding hands. It wasn’t that they ignored Junsu. In fact, Jaejoong tried hard to involve him in their conversations, but with all the small touches and looks they were giving each other, Junsu felt like he was interrupting a secret conversation every time he opened his mouth.

He was just about to either leave or order something extremely sweet and sugary when Yunho’s friend showed up. Or at least Junsu assumed it was Yunho’s friend with the way the man stomped over to them and stood in front of Yunho with his arms crossed.

“Care to explain to me why my boss suddenly told me I was to meet you for lunch here?”

Yunho looked kind of sheepish and then smiled. “Changmin, this is Jaejoong and his best friend Junsu.”

Changmin spared them a glance, a curt nod, and a mumbled ‘nicetomeetyou’, before turning back to Yunho. “How many times have I told you not to use your friendship with my insane boss to interrupt me during my work?”

“I’m sorry, I thought you’d like to meet Jaejoong,” Yunho said softly, looking unhappy. Changmin frowned and stood next to their table for a few seconds before shoving his way past Yunho. He plopped down opposite Junsu and tried to ignore the large smile that was forming on Yunho’s face.

“You’re paying, right?” He said, addressing his friend. Yunho pulled a face but nodded, still happy.

 They ordered their desired lunches with fancy Italian names that none of them could pronounce properly and sat back to wait for their food. It might just be because there wasn’t much else to focus on and Changmin definitely wasn’t ugly, but Junsu found himself intrigued by the person opposite him. He seemed younger than Yunho, but Junsu wondered how old he really was with the way he talked to his friend.

Jaejoong bravely tried to initiate a conversation by asking Changmin what kind of work he did, but all he got was a “something with computers, you don’t really look like you would understand.”

A spark of annoyance settled in Junsu’s stomach and a frown formed on his face. It was true that he and Jaejoong weren’t the smartest in terms of understanding technology, since they barely managed to record the television shows they wanted to watch later, but the way Changmin said it just irked him immensely. It was Yunho that responded though. “Changmin, come on.”

Changmin tried to look innocent but couldn’t hide his smirk. “What? Even my boss doesn’t get what I do.”

Yunho sighed and rubbed his thumb over the back of Jaejoong’s hand in a soothing manner. Apparently Changmin was a lost case. Junsu didn’t understand how Yunho’s friendship with him worked, because at the moment it didn’t look like much. He’d come to know Yunho as someone very gentle and kind, though watching him around Jaejoong might not be the best indication. Changmin, however, seemed proud, arrogant even.

“I’m guessing you were also involuntarily dragged along on their delusional cotton-candy date?”

It took Junsu a couple of seconds to realize that Changmin was talking to him and by then he felt incredibly awkward. Changmin was staring at him, waiting for an answer so Junsu smiled and settled for something simple. “Pretty much, yeah.”

Changmin seemed sharp-tongued and Junsu knew he would lose in any form of verbal sparring, so he was going to avoid talking as much as possible. Besides, with his slow answer, Changmin must think he was dumb already.

Opposite him, the guy in question was starting to relax, leaning back into the couch, and stretching his legs. His very long legs, Junsu noticed. He couldn’t deny that Changmin was attractive, but with the way he treated Jaejoong and Yunho, Junsu didn’t want to try and talk to him. He sighed and remembered his original plans, mentally promising himself to tell Jaejoong no the next time.

Their food came quickly enough and for a while it was quiet, Jaejoong and Yunho needing their hands and mouths for their meals.  Despite the whole situation, Junsu managed to enjoy his food. At least until he noticed that Changmin was staring at him.

“What?” He hadn’t meant to sound like a child, but constantly feeling uncomfortable had made him a bit prickly.

“You eat in a very amusing way,” Changmin said.

Yunho snorted and swallowed before speaking. “You’re one to talk. You eat everything and you eat it fast.”

Jaejoong smiled. “Really? Junsu also eats very fast.”

“No wonder, your cooking is amazing,” Yunho said, placing his cutlery back on the table and reaching for Jaejoong’s hand again.

Changmin and Junsu looked at each other and for the first time they completely understood one another.

“Maybe you can bring Changmin over sometime and I can cook for all of us?” Jaejoong asked Yunho.

“What are we, your children?” Changmin asked with an incredulous expression.

Yunho didn’t respond and absent-mindedly ruffled Changmin’s hair.  Junsu could almost see the thunderclouds forming above Changmin’s head.

“Let’s get out of here,” Changmin suddenly said to him.

Junsu considered it while biting his lip.  He wasn’t sure whether Jaejoong would be angry with him if he left, and there was still quite a lot left on his plate.  “We can’t just leave. The food…”

“You’re right. Can’t waste food.” Almost before Changmin had finished his sentence, he was eating again, though Junsu wasn’t sure if you could still call it eating. It was more like inhaling. Junsu glanced at Yunho and Jaejoong, but they were still completely oblivious to anything but each other, so he bent over his plate and tried to catch up with Changmin while trying not to laugh at the same time.

As soon as he was done, Changmin got up and pushed past Yunho. “Bathroom, excuse me.”

Incredulous, Junsu followed Changmin with his eyes as he moved through the café. He didn’t go to the toilet, but grabbed his coat and headed for the exit. At the door, Changmin turned around, looked at him and raised an eyebrow, as if he was waiting for something.

_Oh_. Junsu pointed at himself, and Changmin nodded, rolling his eyes.  Junsu flushed and hesitated, glancing at Jaejoong again.  “Jae?”

He didn’t get a response. Sighing, he left his food for what it was, and got up as well. Maybe Jaejoong would notice him when he moved through his line of sight. If they asked him where he was going he would just say toilet and come back.

 “Oh, Su,” Jaejoong said when he moved past him. “Could you bring me some water?”

Junsu pressed his lips together but took the glass he was handed anyway. When he finally turned back around, he didn’t see Changmin anymore. He bit his lip, hesitating again. Maybe he should stay. Behind him he heard Yunho tell Jaejoong that he didn’t have to ask Junsu for water, Yunho would gladly get it for him every time.  Resolutely, Junsu squared his shoulders, placed Jaejoong’s glass on the closest table, and left the café.

\---

He had forgotten how cold it was outside and cursed Jaejoong once again for forcing him out of their apartment. Hugging himself, he made his way down the road. At least it wasn’t too far.

“I guess you didn’t chicken out after all.” Changmin fell into step next to him.

Junsu looked up, surprised. “I thought you left?”

Changmin stared at him, a weird look on his face.

“I can see how you are friends with Jaejoong; so slow. Of course I left. I’m not going to be obvious and stand in the doorway until you join me, though I doubt they would have noticed even that.  Furthermore, I wasn’t sure if you would come at all.”

Junsu frowned. One minute he thought Changmin was okay after all, waiting on him in the cold, and the next minute the guy was insulting him again.

“Don’t you have to go back to your precious job?” Junsu muttered.

Changmin glanced at his watch. “No, I still have an hour. My boss told me I wasn’t allowed back in the office until two.”

Junsu knew the guy was ignoring what Junsu had really meant on purpose, but he couldn’t do much about it. This is why he normally kept his mouth shut completely around people like Changmin. He resolved to do just that again.

A couple of hundred meters further, Changmin spoke again. “You’re not very talkative, are you?”

Junsu clenched his jaws together.

“I mean, not that it’s wrong of course, but you look like the bubbly kind. You know, the kind that just rambles on about nothing.”

He was exactly that kind of person. When he was enthusiastic about something or just happy in general, he had the tendency to chatter and he knew it. People had told him often enough, either annoyed or making fun of him. He hated that Changmin had somehow guessed right, and picked up his pace, hoping that Changmin would get the hint.

He didn’t.  “So where are we going?”

Junsu froze.  All this time he had been walking back to his apartment without thinking about it. “Uh, I was going home?”

“Oh good, because it’s kind of cold outside. I could do with some coffee.”

Junsu turned to face Changmin, about to tell him to fuck off, only to be confronted with something between a smile and a smirk. The guy knew exactly what he was doing and it did nothing to calm Junsu down.  It had been a very long time since someone had gotten him this annoyed, and that was saying something since he lived with Jaejoong. He rubbed his face with one hand while he tried to think of a not-too-rude way to get rid of Changmin.

“Don’t worry, I’m leaving,” Changmin said, making Junsu look up, startled.

Changmin was frowning at him, or at least that’s what Junsu thought he was doing, and reached out to him. It was so unexpected that Junsu did nothing when Changmin’s hand touched his cheek. And pinched it.

“Your face is kind of dumb.”

Junsu stared, shocked and embarrassed, but most of all angry, at Changmin’s retreating figure. He didn’t even feel the cold anymore.

\---

It was dark outside when Jaejoong got home, happily humming to himself.  Junsu was sitting on his bed, hugging his pillow while very efficiently shooting down people on the screen in front of him. For a moment, he was tempted to grab his headset so he could ignore Jaejoong, but that would mean getting killed.

As soon as Jaejoong peeked around his door, he knew he would lose the game anyway.  His best friend liked to pretend he cared about Junsu’s online reputation, but he really didn’t. This was made obvious once again when Jaejoong took the pillow in Junsu’s lap as an invitation. He lay down on the bed and wormed his way into Junsu’s arms, resting his head on the pillow.  For a couple of minutes, Junsu bravely tried to continue his game, but with his arms impeded by Jaejoong’s head it was a lost cause. He sighed and put his controller down before letting himself fall backward on the bed.

Jaejoong shifted a bit until he was comfortably lying with his head on Junsu’s belly.

Before he had even opened his mouth, Junsu already knew what was coming by the way Jaejoong was fidgeting.

“Su, I’m really-“

“It’s okay,” Junsu said. He’d forgiven Jaejoong the moment he walked in.

Jaejoong reached out and grabbed his hand, playing with his fingers.  Junsu sighed as he heard is stomach growl. “Did Yunho by any chance promise you to do our grocery shopping forever and always, or are we going to have to order in again?”

He could feel Jaejoong laughing against his stomach and smiled.

“Let’s order in.”

 


	2. Chapter 2

 

Junsu woke up to the smell of delicious home-made food. He groaned, torn between the warmth of his bed and the growling of his stomach. It was Saturday and he had really wanted to sleep in, but Jaejoong didn’t make breakfast often lately because he was too busy, and Junsu didn’t want to miss out on it.

Sighing, he wrapped himself in his duvet and managed to wriggle out of bed. A corner of his cocoon dragged over the floor as he made his way to the kitchen and as soon as Jaejoong spotted it, he got a disapproving look that practically screamed ‘we didn’t vacuum yet!’

Yawning, he decided to ignore it. “Morning.”

Jaejoong smiled, quick to forget Junsu’s faults, and pulled out a chair for him. “Good morning!”

Unused to such treatment, Junsu looked at him in confusion while he moved around the kitchen. Jaejoong caught him staring and faced him with a way too bright smile; Saturday morning was for half-mumbled sentences and sleepy faces.  “Sorry, it’s taking a bit longer than usual since I’m also preparing lunch, but it’s almost done!”

Too tired to figure out what was up with Jaejoong, Junsu decided on his usual tactic: ask.

“What’s going on?”

Jaejoong hummed in response and stirred in some of his pans. Unsure, Junsu wrapped the duvet tighter around him, trying to keep the warmth inside. While he slowly woke up, he watched Jaejoong  finish up some last things. Something was definitely off.

“Jae?” He asked carefully. His reply came in the form of Jaejoong placing a huge breakfast in front of him, smile still plastered on his face. “Here you go! Don’t spill.”

For a moment Junsu thought he was still dreaming, but he couldn’t remember his dreams ever smelling this good.

“I hope you’re eating with me, because I can’t finish this all on my own, Jae.” He said, incredulous.

This finally pulled a genuine smile from Jaejoong, who nodded and took a seat opposite him.

After they had managed to make a sizeable dent in the food, Jaejoong finally got to the point.

“So about yesterday-”

Jaejoong fidgeted, and Junsu smiled, finally understanding what this was about. It was an apology, and he certainly was not going to help Jaejoong out this time.

“What did- When you-Ehm.”  Jaejoong took a deep breath and looked Junsu in the eye. “Did you leave with Yunho’s friend?”

Whatever it was that Junsu had been expecting, it certainly wasn’t this. He didn’t really want to think back to that part of the day. He had beaten himself up enough while thinking about it and what he should have done, what he should have said. He didn’t want to tell Jaejoong about it; he was embarrassed enough as it was.

 “Sort of,” he said carefully.

Jaejoong’s eyes flickered back to the table while his hands played with each other in a way reminiscent of what Yunho usually did. “What did you think?”

Junsu sat back, dropping all pretense of still eating breakfast, and frowned. “What did I think of what?”

“Of Changmin.”  Jaejoong managed to look him in the eye for about one second and then his gaze shot back to the table, his tongue slipping out to wet his lip in what Junsu clearly recognized as a nervous habit.

An idea started to creep up on him, and he didn’t like it one bit. They hadn’t been trying to set him up, had they? Now that the suspicion was planted in his mind, he couldn’t let it go. Looking back, it did rather seem like a set-up for a double date. But Jaejoong wouldn’t do something like that without telling him, would he?

Before he had a chance to ask, Jaejoong spoke again. “I just want your opinion because well, I kind of really like Yunho, as in really really like him, and he seems too nice to be real and you know what they say about how a person’s friends say something about him and well Changmin-” Jaejoong stopped and frowned. “Changmin wasn’t very nice, was he?”

After a few second of stunned silence, Junsu couldn’t help but laugh. And he couldn’t really manage to stop laughing. He felt incredibly relieved that it hadn’t been about him, and really, the situation was just too funny. He had to put his head down on the table to catch his breath and Jaejoong took the opportunity to hit him. “Stop it! I was being serious.”

Junsu’s smile was echoed on Jaejoong’s face though, and soon they were both laughing again.

“I don’t think you have to worry about anything,” Junsu told Jaejoong later, when they were cleaning the table. “Apart from dealing with the fact that your boyfriend has bad taste in friends, but I guess that’s compensated by falling for you.”

Jaejoong froze at the comment, and Junsu took the opportunity to wrap them both in his duvet. His friend slowly relaxed and turned around to hug him. “Thank you,” he whispered, but Junsu caught it anyway. Lately, Junsu sometimes forgot how insecure Jaejoong really was because it had gotten so much better after he’d started dating Yunho. He hugged him closer for a moment before pulling back. “Need to go shower.”

Jaejoong nodded but grabbed his wrist just as he turned around to leave. “Oh, I almost forgot!”

“If you have time,” he started. “I made some things for lunch too, so I thought we could maybe go outside and eat somewhere?”

“Jae, it’s winter,” Junsu said with a smile. He was starting to realize all the food really was an apology, even though Junsu had forgiven him already. He didn’t mind though; he got to spend time with his best friend and eat tasty food.

“I know, but we can just bundle up and I’ll bring a thermos flask with tea?” Jaejoong replied, not really sounding all that sure himself. Junsu nodded anyway.

“Okay.”

\---

It was too cold to eat outside, but Junsu bore it anyway. The park Jaejoong had brought them to was nice nevertheless, even with the trees bare and the frozen ground.  In the spring it would be beautiful, and probably much more crowded. At the moment it was deserted except for a couple of old ladies slowly walking down the path.

The first thing Jaejoong had done after they’d found a bench that wasn’t completely frosted over, was to give him a cup of hot tea, which was probably the only reason that Junsu could still move his fingers.  He watched as Jaejoong pulled out different boxes of food with his hands stiff from the cold, and was about to suggest they head home and have a living-room picnic when someone called out Jaejoong’s name.

Junsu’s heart sank when he saw Changmin and Yunho jogging down the path, Yunho waving happily at the both of them. He managed a half-hearted wave back. Jaejoong only noticed when Yunho wrapped his arms around him from behind; he jumped in surprise and only closely avoided hitting their heads together. “Yunho!”

A large smile broke out and he turned into the hug. Yunho must’ve felt him shivering because he started to rub his arms, concern written on his face. “Why are you outside? It’s way too cold.”

Jaejoong gratefully leaned into the touch, not bothered by Yunho’s sweaty state. “Picnicking with Su.”

Yunho shook his head at them, but kissed Jaejoong on the cheek. “Looks good.”

Junsu tuned them out and sipped some of his tea. He spotted Changmin stretching a couple of metres away and frowned.  Regretfully, Changmin chose that moment to turn around and saw him looking. Something in his expression flickered and then the now almost familiar sneer was back in place. Junsu felt the childish urge to stick his tongue out but managed to catch himself just in time.

He turned back to the still cuddling and talking couple, and sighed. Finishing his tea, he placed the cup on the bench, rubbing his hands together to make up for the lost warmth. He was going to freeze to the bench before they were done. How was Yunho not dying from the cold? Both he and Changmin were not even wearing coats or scarves, just comfortable jogging clothes. Only the fact that they were wearing long-sleeved shirts, kept Junsu from shivering in sympathy.

“You should stretch first, if you’re going to stand still in the cold even longer,” Changmin said walking over to them.

 Yunho nodded and pulled away from Jaejoong. “We were almost done anyway.”

Changmin’s expression indicated something else but he didn’t speak up, only crossed his arms in front of him. Yunho didn’t notice.

“Why don’t you join us? We can go and get coffee somewhere?” Yunho asked, looking excited at the prospect.

Jaejoong glanced at him, looking for approval. Junsu didn’t want to go somewhere with the three of them again, but staying outside had lost its appeal. “Yeah, sure.”

 “Great!” Yunho beamed and started to enthusiastically pack what Jaejoong had managed to get out of the bag. For a second Junsu felt that maybe he should help, but something in him hardened and he got up instead, leaving all the work to Yunho . His legs felt stiff and he tried to rub some warmth back into them while he waited for Jaejoong.

“Only people as dumb as you two would try to picnic in the winter.”

He didn’t have to look to know who was talking to him. Gritting his teeth, he stomped his feet on the ground, trying to get the feeling back into them. By now, Changmin must be way colder than him, but he wasn’t showing it. It only made Junsu more annoyed with him.

“But I guess your body has enough natural insulation,” Changmin said, smirking.

He could feel his grip on his anger slipping when he realized what Changmin was insinuating. He walked over to where Yunho and Jaejoong were standing, hoping to prevent himself from doing something stupid.

“Just let me carry the bag, Jae. You can’t even feel your fingers,” Yunho said, sounding exasperated.

Jaejoong stubbornly shook his head. “No, it’s fine. I brought it, I can carry it back.”

Junsu felt like punching something. Is this why they’d been waiting in the cold? He took the bag out of Jaejoong’s hands. “Can we go now?”

While Jaejoong blushed and managed to look guilty, Yunho just looked annoyed, and somehow Junsu ended up feeling like he had done something wrong.

“You know what? I don’t really feel like coffee. I’ll head on home and put this in the fridge,” he said softly, all fight gone from his body. He just felt tired and cold. “See you later.”

Avoiding Jaejoong’s gaze and ignoring his questions, he turned around and started walking in the direction of their home. The closest coffee shop was the other way, so he was surprised when he heard footsteps behind him. He smiled to himself, glad Jaejoong had come after him, but determined to send him back to Yunho anyway. His friend was almost unbearable when he knew he could be spending time with Yunho but wasn’t.

“Junsu!”

That definitely wasn’t Jaejoong’s voice. His steps faltered for a moment until he caught himself. How had he even expected anyone else? From experience he knew that walking faster wouldn’t work, so he ran. He didn’t care that Changmin was obviously more used to running, and dressed for it on top of that. He didn’t care that his shorter legs would never be able to outrun Changmin. He just didn’t want to talk to the guy, or see him, or even hear him for that matter. He just wanted to be alone.

He made it to the gate at the entrance of the park before Changmin caught up with him, grabbing his wrist.  “Junsu.” He was almost as out of breath as Junsu was, thought he probably didn’t have the same pain in his sides. It made Junsu feel a tiny bit better. But only a tiny bit.

“What?” He snapped. “What do you want from me?”

“You forgot your phone,” Changmin said, showing no outward reaction to Junsu’s outburst.

Junsu bit his lip hard and took a couple of deep breaths, trying not to feel like an idiot. At least the cold and the exertion had made sure that his blush wasn’t visible on his already red cheeks. He held out his hand for it, but Changmin made no move to hand it over.

“Why thank you Changmin, I wouldn’t have found my way home without Google maps,” Changmin said in a weirdly high voice, supposedly imitating Junsu.

Instantly anger replaced his embarrassment. “You could’ve just given it to Jaejoong.”

Changmin smirked at him, and Junsu tried to stare him down, refusing to let himself be baited again.

“I could have, but it’s not like I want to hang around with just the two of them,” Changmin said in a surprisingly serious tone.  Within seconds his smirk was back though. “Which is why I lied. I don’t have your phone; it’s probably in one of your pockets or something.”

Fists clenched, Junsu tried really hard not to feel like the stupidest person in the world. Now that Changmin had mentioned it, he could feel the weight of his phone in his coat pocket. He looked up to the grey sky, trying to stay calm. Why was he so gullible?

“I would probably have been required to confirm the compliments they give each other all afternoon, while watching their sickeningly sweet displays of affection. You can’t blame me for lying to get away from that,” Changmin argued.

Having actually been in that position before, Junsu could empathize a little too well. “Yeah, I guess,” he admitted grudgingly and only because Changmin had the decency to look at least a little remorseful.  He himself had sort of lied as well, after all. But why did Changmin have to involve him every time?

Changmin smiled, relieved, and though there was still that sense of derision, Junsu couldn’t tell who it was directed at.

“Let’s walk, I’m getting cold,” Changmin said.

Junsu was grateful for the suggestion, since his nose felt like it was freezing off and he couldn’t stop his hands from trembling. He hid as much of his face as he could in his scarf, put his hands back in his pockets, and followed Changmin.

Inadvertently, he was soon leading them in the direction of his and Jaejoong’s apartment once again, but by the time he realised this, he couldn’t find a good reason to get rid of Changmin anymore. For once, the guy was behaving himself, asking Junsu questions and letting Junsu reply. Of course, the cutting remarks and interruptions were still there, but somehow Junsu felt less bothered by them.

“Maybe we should start an anti-Yunho-and-Jaejoong-in-a-room-with-other-people club,” Changmin said after they’d somehow returned to that topic. “That way we can save the world from sugar-poisoning.”

Junsu laughed. “I’m happy for them though.”

“So am I,” Changmin said after a moment without any trace of mockery. Junsu looked at him curiously. Maybe there was something to his friendship with Yunho after all.

Changmin caught his gaze, making him blush.

“You know, your laugh is really weird,” Changmin said, face unreadable.

Junsu’s eyes widened in surprise before he resolutely kicked at Changmin’s legs. Changmin managed to evade it but he looked genuinely shocked that Junsu had even tried. Junsu glared at him and walked on. Somehow, he hadn’t been expecting the barb, even though this was Changmin and he obviously should have. It didn’t make it sting any less.

“Hey!” Changmin shouted behind him, having recovered from the unforeseen attack, but Junsu had reached his front door and was inside before the other could catch up. He slammed the door closed in Changmin’s face.

He stood in the hallway for a minute, too angry to go up the stairs just yet. Just what the hell was wrong with that guy?

“Junsu!” Changmin was knocking on the door rather insistently. “Junsu open up, I’m freezing out here.”

Junsu felt a twinge of guilt at the thought, but it quickly disappeared as he thought back to all the things Changmin had called him in the course of the afternoon.

“Too bad your body doesn’t have more insulation,” he mumbled in the direction of the door.

He heard a loud thud, and then the knocking stopped. Worried, he almost opened the door to check if Changmin was all right, when the person in question spoke again, softer this time.

“I’m sorry, Junsu. I’m sorry.”

It was another five minutes before Junsu was sure that Changmin had left, and another ten before he finally made his way upstairs.

\---

Jaejoong came home late.  Junsu had eaten their picnic as dinner after receiving a text from Jaejoong that he’d be with Yunho, and had gone to bed early.

He was almost asleep when his bedroom door opened, letting a tiny sliver of light into his room. He could see Jaejoong’s shadow on his wall, and didn’t move. He had his back to Jaejoong and hoped desperately that his friend would accept that he was asleep and leave.

Jaejoong sighed and stepped inside, closing the door softly behind him. In the dark, he could hear Jaejoong making his way towards him and he curled in upon himself. The bed dipped and Jaejoong lay down next to him, still fully clothed. He threw an arm around his waist, hugging him from behind.

“I wish you would get along with him. He’s trying really hard, you know?” Jaejoong whispered, his head pressed against Junsu’s shoulder.

Junsu wanted to shout, wanted to kick up a storm, wanted to cry. Jaejoong didn’t understand and somehow he couldn’t seem to make him. Yunho wasn’t the problem. He pressed his eyes closed, and tried to keep everything inside, frozen in his best friend’s arms.

“I need you and Yunho to get along.” Jaejoong voice was trembling, his hand clinging onto the duvet.

A tear escaped Junsu’s hold on himself when he heard Jaejoong draw in a shuddering breath.

“Su, I think I love him.”

 

 


	3. Chapter 3

 

 

It had been quiet in their apartment the past week; Jaejoong was spending a lot of time with Yunho and Junsu had buried himself in his studies. There wasn’t anything wrong per se, but things had grown awkward. Junsu knew they should talk, knew what was standing between them, but Jaejoong didn’t seem to want to, and it was hard trying to initiate such a conversation when Jaejoong switched topics every time he tried.

They still slept in the same bed, hugging each other close, but the late night talks had turned into sleeping early, and the slow mornings, for Junsu, now meant waking up alone in bed, Jaejoong already up and busy.

When Jaejoong finally stopped evading the topic, Junsu was so surprised that he didn’t even hear him properly the first time.

“Sorry, what?” He asked, frozen in the motion of turning a page. He had been curled up on the couch, studying, and Jaejoong had been in his room not even a minute ago. But now he was standing in front of him, arms crossed over his chest, and looking determined.

“I invited Yunho over for dinner,” Jaejoong said. He seemed to want some kind of reaction from him, but Junsu didn’t know what he was supposed to do with this information.

“Okay? I’ll eat somewhere else,” he said hesitantly.

“No, you’re staying and joining us.” Jaejoong was clearly nervous, but his voice didn’t waver and Junsu didn’t think it was of any use to argue. He couldn’t help but pull a face though. Normal couples had this initial period of clinginess that slowly faded away, but if anything, with Yunho and Jaejoong it only seemed to become stronger. Junsu personally thought that they would make an interesting case for sociologists, or even anthropologists, but that wasn’t going to help him get through dinner with the two of them.

Jaejoong had noticed his expression, and started fidgeting with his hands. “Do you dislike Yunho that much?”

Junsu’s eyes widened and he shook his head immediately. Was that what Jaejoong had been thinking all this time? He put his book away and reached for Jaejoong, who took his hand and sat down next to him. Like always, Jaejoong instinctively leaned into him and Junsu folded him into his arms. Jaejoong relaxed after a couple of seconds and exhaled slowly, letting his head fall on Junsu’s shoulder, Junsu’s hand slowly stroking his hair.

“I don’t dislike Yunho, Jae. I actually quite like him, and how happy he makes you. It’s just that-” Junsu hesitated. He wasn’t sure how to phrase the next bit so Jaejoong would understand, but the latter was looking at him, relief and worry in his eyes, urging him on.

“The two of you-” Junsu tried, and stopped again. Telling Jaejoong that it was impossible to get to know Yunho with him anywhere near was probably not a good way of starting this conversation.

Before he had even said anything Jaejoong’s mouth had formed an o in realization and he quickly sat upright again. “I can invite Changmin as well, if you like?”

Junsu groaned. “Oh god, please don’t.”

Jaejoong looked at him, surprised, before bursting into laughter. Junsu had to smile, but the memories of Changmin replayed in his head. He probably wouldn’t even want to come over with the way Junsu had left him standing outside in the cold. He felt uncomfortable even thinking about it, let alone talking about him, so he quickly changed the subject before Jaejoong could ask.

“What are you making?” He asked, genuinely curious. Jaejoong usually went all out when they had guests.

Jaejoong was not so easily distracted this time though, studying him with curiosity in his eyes. Within seconds Junsu felt nervous. Calling him a bad liar would be an understatement, and keeping things from Jaejoong was something he’d never been able to do well. He was actually kind of surprised it had taken Jaejoong this long.

“Su, what happened with Changmin?”

Absently, he watched his fingers trace the pattern in the fabric of their couch. “He’s an asshole, we already talked about this,” he mumbled, hoping Jaejoong would just drop it.

A hand stilled his fingers, and he looked up to find Jaejoong watching him, a frown marring his face.

“I don’t think we did. What did he do?”

Junsu tried to smile, to assuage Jaejoong’s worries, but somehow it turned self-deprecating. He sighed. “It’s nothing to worry about, okay? Nothing serious. He just makes fun of me and I don’t take it well.”

He saw Jaejoong’s uncertainty and tried again. “Jae, really, it’s fine. He just annoys me, okay? You can’t tell me he doesn’t annoy you too.”

Jaejoong seemed to accept it and settled back against the couch. But the way Jaejoong was looking down with a slight frown still in place, told Junsu that his friend was mulling things over. It made him glad that he hadn’t told Jaejoong just how much Changmin got to him every time. It went past mere annoyance to something Junsu couldn’t define, and it irked him.

“You can invite someone, if you want?” Jaejoong said carefully. “I know Junho is in Japan, but maybe someone else?”

Unconsciously, Junsu’s arm around Jaejoong tightened. He didn’t really have other friends. He had some people he played football with sometimes, and some people he gamed with every once in a while, but none of them were people he’d feel comfortable inviting to a dinner like this. Junho would have been perfect of course, since he also knew Jaejoong and got along well with him, but like Jaejoong had said, that wasn’t an option.

Probably already having guessed the answer, Jaejoong didn’t push him for names.

“I’d really like it if you joined us though,” Jaejoong said. It was no longer a demand, but Junsu couldn’t find it in himself anymore to refuse and nodded after taking a deep breath.

\---

When Jaejoong came into his room late in the afternoon, looking uncomfortable and wearing an apologetic expression, Junsu’s first thought turned out to be the right one.

“Changmin?” He mouthed the question, his mood already dropping. Jaejoong, who had been about to tell him, pressed his lips together and nodded. Junsu had sort of guessed since he’d heard their doorbell ring, followed by more than two people talking. Besides, if it had been Yunho by himself, talking wouldn’t have been the first thing they did. But he had still held some secret hope of Yunho having brought someone that was actually nice.

“I’ll be right out,” Junsu said with a sigh. He knew Jaejoong still had some preparations to finish before they could eat, and it would be rude to leave guests to entertain themselves in the living room. Jaejoong smiled gratefully and left, closing the door behind him.

A glance in the mirror made him bite his lip. He was wearing comfortable clothes, like he usually did at home, and he couldn’t remember what Jaejoong had been wearing under his hello kitty apron. Hopefully, Yunho and Changmin hadn’t dressed up too much.

As soon as he left his room, he felt awkward, even though it was his own living room. Jaejoong got up and waved him over to the chair he had been sitting, motioning for Yunho to remain seated, when he made to get up to greet Junsu. Changmin smirked at him and Junsu only just managed not to flip him off by way of greeting. A ‘hi’ complemented with a glare for Changmin and a smile for Yunho would have to do. Unlike him, Yunho and Changmin were dressed perfectly for the occasion in crisp shirts and nice slacks. Self-consciously he pulled at his worn jeans and wished he had at least switched into something fancier than his favourite hoody.

Jaejoong pushed him down in the vacated chair before he could excuse himself to change, and turned to the two on the couch. “Can I get you anything to drink?”

“Coffee,” Changmin started, “even though I highly doubt-”

Yunho stepped on Changmin’s foot, making him curse and glare at his friend.

“Please,” Yunho finished for him. “the same for me. Do you need some help? Are you sure an extra mouth isn’t going to create problems?”

Jaejoong shook his head. “It’s fine, but I could use an extra pair of hands,” he replied, looking pleased, and allowed Yunho to accompany him into his kitchen. Junsu was left to stare at the floor while ignoring Changmin. He suspected that he wasn’t going to get to know Yunho any better today either.

As the silence stretched on, it was Changmin who spoke first. “Junsu…”

Carefully he kept his face blank as he acknowledged the other. “Changmin.”

Annoyance flashed in Changmin’s eyes and Junsu could only wonder how and why the guy had convinced Yunho to bring him along. He was fairly sure Jaejoong hadn’t invited him after their conversation this morning.

“I’m sorry, okay?” Changmin bit out, looking to the side and keeping his voice down so the others wouldn’t overhear.

“Yeah, you sound like are,” Junsu deadpanned, his arms crossed in front of him.

Changmin glared at him. “Look, I never meant-”

Jaejoong interrupted their conversation to bring Changmin his coffee. “Black, right?”

Still agitated, Changmin immediately took a sip of the beverage, and looked up in surprise at Jaejoong.

“It’s good,” he said, stunned.

Jaejoong smiled. “Thanks.”

With his back turned to Changmin, he touched Junsu’s shoulder, concerned. “Can I get you anything?”

Junsu understood the question underneath it and shook his head. “I’m okay.”

When Jaejoong had left, Changmin remained quiet, which rather annoyed Junsu who was curious by nature. The other, however, was carefully sipping his coffee and somehow looked more at ease now, with the warm cup in his hands.

“Why were you surprised?” Junsu asked after a while.

Changmin didn’t seem to understand what he was talking about. “The coffee?” Junsu added.

“Oh,” Changmin looked at his cup. “It’s really hard to make good coffee.”

“Really?” Junsu asked. He really only drank coffee when he needed the caffeine. He wasn’t all that fond of the taste. “I can’t really tell the difference.”

Changmin looked at him as if he had just insulted the whole of mankind. “That’s it. Move out. Jaejoong obviously needs a roommate that can appreciate his coffee making skills. Yunho won’t do either, with the amount of milk and sugar he throws in,” Changmin said, sounding completely serious.

Junsu couldn’t help but laugh at his scandalised expression, until he caught Changmin looking at him intensely, a corner of his mouth pulled up. ‘Your laugh is really weird’. The sentence echoed in his mind. Junsu’s smile slid of his lips and he stood up stiffly.

“I’ll be right back.”

As it turned out, Jaejoong was about to serve dinner. So Junsu took the chance to excuse himself and wash his hands in the bathroom. His heart was beating too fast and he tried to calm down by taking deep breaths and splashing some water into his face. He didn’t understand why he was so affected. Maybe he wasn’t the most secure and confident person, but he wasn’t normally this bad either.

When he returned the food was already on the table and there was only one seat left, across from Changmin but next to Jaejoong. As he sat down, Jaejoong grabbed his hand and laced their fingers together in reassurance until he had to serve the guests.

As always, the food was delicious, but it wasn’t enough to compensate for Changmin’s rude comments every time Junsu opened his mouth to say something. Junsu fought hard to ignore him and to keep smiling so as not to ruin Jaejoong’s dinner, but the tension was hard to miss. By the time they had finished the main course, Jaejoong was frowning and had taken Junsu’s hand in his own again. Thankfully, Yunho was positively livid, which saved Junsu’s opinion of him.

“If you’ll excuse us for a minute, I need to talk to Changmin. Jae, can I use your room?” Yunho said, and pulled Changmin up by his arm.

“Of course,” Jaejoong said, “Junsu, would you like to help me put some last touches on the dessert?”

Junsu nodded absent-mindedly, watching Yunho drag Changmin into Jae’s room, stormy expressions on both their faces. Arms wrapped around him and he leaned into the familiar touch.

“Su, I’m sorry. I feel bad for not noticing earlier.”

Junsu chewed on his lip, staring at the door, until Jaejoong started pulling at him, gently guiding him into the direction of the kitchen. As Jaejoong took the cake he’d made out of the fridge, Junsu could hear raised voices. It must be awful to get so publicly scolded by your best friend, but Changmin deserved it. Junsu felt hurt and angry, but mostly confused about what he’d done to deserve this. A touch on his shoulder startled him out of his thoughts.

“Could you go get the plates for me?” Jaejoong asked.

As he gathered the plates in the living room, he could hear Yunho talking to Changmin. Yunho was trying to keep his voice down and Junsu couldn’t make out the words. He did hear Changmin protesting. He clenched his jaws together, and tried to focus on the task of clearing the table and shutting out the conversation. When he was forced to pass the door on his way back to the kitchen, however, the words became clearer.

It made him hesitate for one second too long.

“I can’t help it!” Changmin almost hissed at Yunho.

“I don’t care Changmin. You promised me! You promised you would behave, and I only took you with me because of that.”

“You don’t understand,” Changmin sounded almost desperate and Junsu could hear him pacing.

“No, I don’t. I don’t understand you can’t act like any other normal adult that is attracted to someone. Please explain,” Yunho’s replied sarcastically and Changmin cried out in frustration.

Junsu froze, clutching the plates.

“He’s too cute, okay? Every time he laughs I just want to stop it, but then he looks hurt and I can’t stand that either. I don’t know what-”

“Junsu?” Jaejoong called from the kitchen, startling him. Suddenly nervous about getting caught, he quickly moved away before Yunho or Changmin could open the door.

“Are you okay?” Jaejoong moved over to him as soon as he placed the plates on the kitchen table. He didn’t seem to be able to answer him. All he could hear was the snippet of conversation repeating over and over in his mind. He barely even noticed Jaejoong guiding him back to his seat at the table and making him sit down while he did the rest of the work. The beautiful cake placed in front of him didn’t pass his notice though.

“Oh Jae,” Junsu sighed, looking at the three tiers in awe. “You should become a baker.”

Jaejoong smiled gently, but Junsu could see the pride in his eyes as he checked the cake over one last time. “Glad to see that sweets can still cheer you up. Can I go get the others?”

The thought of having to sit at the same table as Changmin again made him freeze up, but he forced himself to nod.

Dessert was a quiet affair compared to dinner. Junsu did not say anything, eating his portion in silence, and Changmin looked angry and annoyed. Complimenting Jaejoong’s skills only got Yunho so far, and after that the conversation quickly fell silent again. Yunho didn’t give up easily though.

“I didn’t know you were such a neat freak, Jae?” He asked with a smile.

Jaejoong looked up in surprise, spoon in his mouth. “I’m not,” he replied.

Yunho looked confused. “But your room- Your bed is made perfectly.”

“Oh that’s because I don’t sleep there often. I sleep in Junsu’s room in a lot,” Jaejoong laughed.

Changmin’s mouth fell open. “You sleep with Junsu?”

Taking another bite of his cake, Jaejoong nodded carefully, suddenly on his toes.

“What’s wrong with y-” Yunho slapped a hand over Changmin’s mouth and apologised.

Junsu blushed but carefully watched Yunho’s reaction, only relaxing when the other didn’t seem to care all that much. Changmin, however, seemed incapable of accepting it and his scowl deepened as he tried to pry the hand away. Junsu almost had to laugh but then he noticed Jaejoong’s expression, full of insecurity.

Yunho and Changmin left soon after that, probably not wanting to risk making the evening even worse. Junsu glared at Changmin the whole time Yunho and Jaejoong were whispering their goodbyes. His glare was returned in full. Yunho must have been mistaken, because there was no way in hell that Changmin was attracted to him.

When the door closed behind them, the house felt empty and all Junsu wanted to do was to crawl into his bed and sleep until he forgot the day’s events. Jaejoong seemed to agree with him. “Let’s leave the clean-up until tomorrow,” he said, looking downcast.

Grateful, Junsu nodded and made his way to the bathroom. As always he was ready for bed faster than Jaejoong, and stole the blankets as he heard the other stumble about. In his mind he followed Jaejoong’s movement through their apartment as he turned off the lights and checked the door one last time. He heard the door beside his close and then nothing.

It took Junsu five minutes to realise Jaejoong wasn’t coming and even then he could barely believe it. Had Yunho said something to him after all? Worried, he got up to knock at Jaejoong’s door.

“Are you okay, Jae?” Junsu asked softly.

“Yeah,” came the muffled reply. “I just wanna sleep by myself, okay?”

Junsu let his hand fall off the door handle and just stared at the piece of wood separating him from Jaejoong. When there was no further reply, he eventually made his way back to his room and lay down on Jaejoong’s side of the now way too big bed. It was two in the morning before he was able to fall asleep, thoughts of Jaejoong never sleeping in the same bed as him again haunting him even in his dreams.

 

 


	4. Chapter 4

 

The café near their house was almost empty, which suited Junsu just fine. His books were in front of him and a cup of coffee was warming his hands. He felt slightly guilty for sneaking out this early in the morning, but he had barely slept and he couldn’t bear the idea of seeing Jaejoong at the moment. He would go back in the afternoon when Jaejoong had left to see Yunho.

Another cup of coffee was put in front of him, and he looked up in surprise. He hadn’t ordered anything.

“It’s an apology,” Changmin said, looking uncertain.

Junsu’s face fell and he started gathering his stuff. How had Changmin found him here?

“I don’t like coffee.”

“I know, but I promise this will taste better than the crap you have there,” Changmin said. “It has chocolate.”

Of course Changmin couldn’t go even two minutes without insulting something, even if it wasn’t Junsu himself this time. Gripping the last book between his hands, he tried his best to stay civil.

“Please leave. I don’t want to talk to you.”

The other managed to actually look guilty but stopped him from putting the book in his bag with a hand to his wrist anyway. “Junsu-”

He pulled his hand away with slightly too much force, almost upsetting his own drink. “Why don’t you get it? Do you not hear the word no? Or are you so arrogant that you think you can just ignore it?”

A couple of customers looked up, either annoyed or concerned, and Junsu gritted his teeth. He hadn’t meant to speak that loudly. Throwing the book in his bag, he zipped it up and got up from his chair. He refused to look at Changmin as he passed him and walked out of the café.

Two blocks away he stopped to catch his breath and gather himself. After glancing at his watch, he decided to just risk the chance that Jaejoong would be in, and headed home. He needed to study and apparently only his room would do. He had stormed off in a random direction when he left the café and it took him a couple of minutes more than he’d have liked to walk back to his own street in the cold, but maybe it was for the best. Jaejoong would surely ask questions if he stomped inside angrily. This way, he could calm down a little.

Turning the last corner, he started looking for his keys, patting his pockets. He had grabbed all his stuff with such haste that he couldn’t remember where exactly he had put his keys. He wasn’t really paying attention to his surroundings, which was why he didn’t notice Changmin leaning against the wall right away, rubbing his arms and looking rather unhappy. Junsu froze. Was this guy for real? Before he could decide whether it was still possible to turn back, unseen, or if it was better to just walk on, Changmin looked in his direction, and the choice was taken from him.

“Junsu!” Changmin jogged up to him.

“Are you stalking me now?” Junsu bit out.

“Let me explain, please,” Changmin said.

“No, you ruin everything,” Junsu shouted. “It’s bad enough that Jaejoong is dating Yunho, but why do you have to be there at every moment to make me feel like an idiot? Do you take joy in torturing me? In making me feel bad? Jaejoong won’t even talk to me anymore, let alone sleep in the same bed and it’s your fault!”

Junsu felt like punching the other but even with anger on his side, Changmin looked like he could easily overpower him.

“Junsu-” Changmin tried again when Junsu tried to walk past him.

“Fuck off. I don’t want to ever see you again.”

For three steps, it was quiet behind him, and Junsu thought that he had finally managed to get rid of the other. Somehow it didn’t feel as triumphant as he had expected.

Then Changmin spoke again, much softer this time. “Do you like him?”

Junsu mouth fell open and he stopped dead in his track, turning around to face Changmin again without a second thought, an incredulous look on his face. “Excuse me?”

Changmin looked hesitant. “Do you like Jaejoong? As more than friends?”

Something snapped inside of him. “Just because you have the grasp of a six year old on your feelings, doesn’t mean others aren’t perfectly clear on theirs. Grow the fuck up, Changmin. Jaejoong is the person that matters most to me in this world, but no, I don’t like him, nor have I ever-”

“Good.” Changmin was suddenly a lot closer than before and Junsu was too surprised to react when he was pushed up against the wall. His bag prodded uncomfortably into his back, and he heard the keys he had been looking for jingle softly, but that concern was soon forgotten when Changmin pulled him into a kiss.

He’d like to say that he kept his lips together, pushed him away, or even bit down, but in his surprise, his mouth opened easily under Changmin’s caresses. He bumped his head against the wall when Changmin forced him to tilt his head up further, and his bag was creating bruises on his skin, but for a couple of seconds he couldn’t care less as their lips met again and again.

Changmin kept his hand on Junsu’s face as he pulled away with an infuriating smirk on his face, his thumb stroking along Junsu’s jaw.

“You were cute before, but you’re incredibly sexy when you’re angry.”

Junsu punched him.

\---

As soon as Junsu slipped the key into the lock the door opened with Jaejoong on the other side. He looked distressed and only needed to take one look at Changmin before his expression hardened.

“You. Leave. You’re not welcome here anymore.” He pointed at Changmin while grabbing Junsu’s wrist protectively with his other hand.

“Jae,” Junsu protested. “Let him in.”

Jaejoong looked at Junsu incredulously. “What?”

Junsu sighed. “It’s a long story. He-”

“He has been hurting you! Not to mention the fact that he has been acting like a complete asshole to the both of us ever since we met him. ”

Before Junsu could intervene, Changmin had opened his big mouth again. “I won’t deny that I’ve been incredibly rude, but I’m definitely not the only one that has been hurting Junsu.” He spoke calmly, with poorly veiled animosity, but the low tone only infuriated Jaejoong more.

“I’m sorry?” Jaejoong said coolly. Junsu recognised the look in his eyes, and it wasn’t a good sign.

“You know perfectly well what I mean. He’s your best friend and yet you completely ignore him as soon as Yunho steps on the scene,” Changmin continued.

“What the fuck are you talking about? You know absolutely nothing you-”

“I have eyes! You two are absolutely insufferable when you’re together and Junsu takes the brunt of it.”

“Just because you’re jealous doesn’t give you the right to be a jerk!”

By now both were practically shouting in each other’s faces and then Changmin stepped forward and Junsu was startled out of his shock.

“STOP IT!”

His voice broke on the words but at least it got their attention. Jaejoong was fisting Changmin’s collar and Changmin had grabbed his arm in turn but both now looked at him, surprised.

“Junsu-” Jaejoong started.

“No.” He took a deep breath. “Changmin, go to my room, I’ll be there in a minute.”

For once, Changmin listened to him, although his expression told him he would probably have something to say about it later. Junsu was left with Jaejoong, who was staring at him in disbelief.

“You’re letting him in,” He said, hurt clear in his voice. Junsu heard the question behind it; was he taking Changmin’s side?

“I am. I punched him and I have some salve somewhere so his eye won’t go completely black,” Junsu replied, pleading for Jaejoong to understand.

“Why are you taking care of him? I’m sure he deserved it.” Jaejoong folded his arms in front of his chest.

“He deserves to get punched a lot harder than I did, but not for the reasons I did it,” Junsu shrugged apologetically. “He won’t be here long, promise.”

“You’re not telling me everything,” Jaejoong said.

Junsu didn’t know what to say to that. He sighed. “Later, okay?”

Jaejoong studied him, looked for something in his expression, and then nodded slowly after a couple of seconds. “I think we need to talk anyway.”

Junsu cringed. He really should punch Changmin again for saying such things to Jaejoong. They hadn’t been lies exactly, but he still had no right. Junsu was perfectly capable of taking care of his own problems and Jaejoong should not have had to hear them from someone like Changmin.

“Yeah,” he mumbled, trying not to think too much. Later. He turned around, already mentally bracing himself for facing Changmin again. A hand on his shoulder stopped him.

“Junsu,” Jaejoong was frowning and looked uneasy, but his mouth set and suddenly Junsu was pulled into a hug. It was such a relief to have those arms around him again, that Junsu wanted to cuddle up to Jaejoong and leave the whole Changmin problem tucked away in his room indefinitely.

Jaejoong didn’t ask any further questions, but held him until he felt a little better and then gently pushed him away, nudging him in the direction of his room.

“Go take care of that. I’ll be here,” Jaejoong said. His disapproval was still clearly audible, but Junsu had to smile at the words. He took one last deep breath and entered his room.

Changmin was sitting on the edge of his bed, and looked up when Junsu came in. He smiled weakly.

“This was not the situation in which I had hoped to see your bedroom,” he teased, but there was no energy behind it. When Junsu didn’t reply, his smile fell.

“I’m sorry. And I’m sorry I keep doing things that require an apology.”

Junsu didn’t know what to say to that either, so he made his way to his drawers, and started digging up the salve he had promised the other.

“He kind of needed to hear that, though,” Changmin added.

Junsu’s fingers closed around the jar and it took all his willpower to not throw it at Changmin’s head. He clenched his jaws together and walked back over to his bed.

“Not from you,” he said, voice clipped.

He sat down next to him and opened the jar, dipping his fingers into the creamy substance. He reached up to Changmin’s face and carefully dabbed some of it onto his cheek. The spot already looked swollen and sore. Changmin hissed at the sting and Junsu cringed in sympathy.

“Well, it’s not like you would have said anything,” Changmin countered half-heartedly.

Junsu didn’t reply, but instead used a little more force for the last of the salve, making Changmin wince. It only made him feel slightly better.

“I don’t even know why I feel guilty about punching you,” he sighed, closing the jar again.

“Because you kissed me back,” Changmin replied quietly, looking at him.

And there it was. The elephant in the room. Junsu bit his lip, trying to formulate his thoughts. It wasn’t that he hadn’t wanted to kiss Changmin, because he had. It was hard to admit, but he hadn’t been forced past the initial push. The problem was that while he was somewhat attracted to the other, he didn’t particularly like him most of the time.

He would probably have kissed anyone at that moment. Lately, especially after Jaejoong withdrew his, he had craved touch, affection, closeness, and if he was less uptight, he would have just slept with somebody to get it. He didn’t want to though; he wanted his best friend back. Or what Jaejoong had: Someone special. And he was definitely not going to find it in Changmin. He would only get hurt if he tried. The other had proved that already.

“Changmin, I’m sorry but-”

Changmin kissed him again, just a peck this time, but it stole his words away regardless. His hand remained on the back of Junsu’s neck after he pulled back, his fingers playing with his hair.

“Don’t,” Changmin hesitated a moment, trying to find the right words, and eventually just shook his head ruefully and leaned forward, gently kissing him again, just a press of lips, but a little longer this time. Junsu allowed it.

“I’ll try to stop messing things up,” Changmin mumbled as he pulled away, avoiding Junsu’s eyes as he stood up and made for the door. Junsu watched him but he didn’t look back once, although he hesitated for a second before he closed the door gently behind him. Junsu heard him say something to Jaejoong, and then the front door opened and closed again. After that, it was quiet.

Junsu listened to his own heartbeat sounding slightly too fast, while he stared at the door. A soft knock came.

“Yeah?” He croaked out.

“Can I come in?” It was Jaejoong. Not Changmin. Jaejoong.

“Sure.” He looked at his hands. On his right hand there was still some salve left. He wiped it on the sheets, ignoring the disapproving sound Jaejoong made.

“Are you okay?” Jaejoong asked softly.

Junsu opened his mouth. Closed it again.

“I don’t know,” he mumbled eventually.

The mattress dipped and Jaejoong pulled the sheets back, before lying down on his side of the bed, tugging at Junsu’s sleeve until he gave in and lay down next to him. Jaejoong’s arms wrapped around him and he sighed.

“He kissed you, didn’t he?”

Junsu mumbled a vague reply and hid in the hug. Jaejoong snorted, but didn’t prod any further. They were both tense and Junsu didn’t know where to start, or how to fix it. And neither, it seemed, did Jaejoong. It felt like they hadn’t talked to each other for months. Unconsciously Junsu tightened his grip on Jaejoong’s shirt. They listened to each other breathe for a while, until Jaejoong eventually broke the silence.

“Is it true? What Changmin said? Did I-” He didn’t finish the sentence.

Junsu hesitated a little too long.

“Oh god, Junsu, I’m so-”

“No, no,” Junsu shook his head. “You’re happy. I’m happy for you. It’s just-”

He took a deep breath. Jaejoong’s hand was rubbing circles on his back.

“He’s the one, isn’t he?” he whispered. Jaejoong pulled back to look at him, confusion in his eyes. Junsu took another shuddering breath.

“Yunho. You love him. He’s the one,” he repeated. Jaejoong didn’t say anything, but his eyes confirmed it anyway.

“Junsu, I don’t understand,” Jaejoong said while gently brushing some hair away from his face. The familiar gesture made Junsu feel even worse. He closed his eyes and forced the words out.

“You two love each other. It’s so obvious in everything that you do. It’s so obvious that this time it’s not going to end with a broken heart. It’s not going to end with me comforting you on this bed, in this room, in this house. This will end with you moving in together. And I want that for you, I want you to be happy.”

The words tumbled out after each other and Junsu didn’t dare look at Jaejoong, he just wanted it over with. He wanted his friend back. He could only hope that Jaejoong understood.

“But I don’t want to be alone.” The last words were barely a whisper.

“Junsu-” Jaejoong sounded hurt and it was exactly what Junsu had been afraid of.

“I know it’s selfish. I know it is,” he immediately protested, curling up even further. “It’s why I didn’t want to tell you. You’ll change, you’ll feel bad about spending so much time with Yunho and I don’t want that. I’ll get better, Junho will get back soon and I can spend more time with him and-”

Jaejoong shut him up by covering his mouth with a hand. Junsu looked at him in surprise. Jaejoong was smiling, somewhat sadly, but smiling nonetheless. A weight fell off his chest.

“Kim Junsu, you’re an idiot, you know that?” He removed his hand when Junsu only looked at him.

“You’re my best friend, and me being with Yunho doesn’t change that. Nor will it ever change that.” Jaejoong hesitated. “Is this why you’ve been so unhappy lately?”

That, _and Changmin_ , a tiny voice in his mind added. Junsu nodded, feeling his cheeks flush from embarrassment. It all seemed rather silly now.

“Hey,” Jaejoong said, a little softer, “I’m sorry if I made you feel like you weren’t important to me anymore. I know I can get kind of caught up in things.” Junsu raised an eyebrow and Jaejoong coughed lightly. “I’ll try to be better from now on, okay?”

Junsu nodded, still embarrassed but nonetheless grateful.

“Also, me and Yunho aren’t moving in together any time soon.” This time it was Jaejoong who blushed and stumbled over his words. “So you should stop worrying so much about the future. Who knows what will happen? Maybe you’ll find a tall and sexy-”

“Yeah you can stop there. You’re ruining the moment,” Junsu interrupted him, poking Jaejoong in his side. Jaejoong laughed and took revenge by pinching his butt.

“Seriously though,” Jaejoong continued. “I’m sorry for overreacting after the dinner. I got scared and-”

Junsu stopped him. “It’s okay.” It wouldn’t have been the first time that one of Jaejoong’s boyfriends got jealous of their friendship; although it still stung a little that Jaejoong had allowed it to get between them.

Jaejoong shook his head. “It’s not. But I talked to Yunho and he assured me he couldn’t care less and then spend another hour apologizing for Changmin’s rude behaviour.”

Junsu smiled. Yunho would worry about that more.

“Speaking of which, what’s going on between you two?” Jaejoong asked, half serious and half-joking, as if he couldn’t decide what to think about it.

“Nothing,” Junsu replied. Jaejoong looked like he didn’t believe him. Junsu didn’t know if he believed it himself either.

“Do you like him?” It was strange to hear the same question twice in one day, in such different circumstances. He had answered Changmin when it wasn’t his business at all, yet he didn’t know what to tell Jaejoong who only asked because he cared for him.

“No. I don’t know. Maybe,” Junsu mumbled. Jaejoong took his hand and played with his fingers comfortingly, leaving space for him to continue.

“He’s a jerk, but then sometimes he’s not and I think I might maybe like-” He sighed again. “I don’t know.”

“Okay,” Jaejoong said, not offering any advice on the matter. “But Junsu, if he hurts you again-”

“What, you’re going to ask Yunho to beat him up for me?” Junsu laughed.

Jaejoong shoved him playfully. “Shut up, I can do it myself.”

“I thought all your work-out time got turned into Yunho time?” Junsu teased.

Jaejoong smirked. “Believe me; Yunho gives me plenty of exercise.”

Junsu couldn’t contain his laughter anymore and Jaejoong soon failed as well, the both of them collapsing into fits of giggles interspersed with silly jokes. Eventually they calmed down again and talked some more about less serious things, catching up on what they’d missed, slowly filling in the gaps.

\---                                                           
                                                    
That night, Junsu woke up from the soft buzz of his phone on the nightstand. Wondering who was texting him at this time, he reached for it and smiled when he heard Jaejoong complain behind him about moving pillows. Things were finally getting back to normal.

He slid his finger over the screen to unlock it and watched as the message appeared. Unknown number. He frowned and tapped the screen.

_-I know I promised, but in my defence: I took your phone and stole your number before that-_

While Junsu was reading, his phone buzzed again. Another message.

_-Before I say, or rather type, something stupid again: Can you give me one last chance?-_

Changmin. Changmin was texting him. His fingers hovered over the screen, not really sure how to reply. Another buzz.

_-Go on a date with me?-_

He stared at the question for a long time. The words didn’t seem to sink in, looking unreal on the tiny screen.

“Su, turn it off,” Jaejoong mumbled behind him. “You’re blinding me.”

He read the tiny sentence again. And then the previous texts until his eyes were drawn downwards again.

“’S something wrong?” Jaejoong asked, turning towards him and blinking at the bright light.

Junsu shook his head and turned his phone off, placing it back on the nightstand. “No, it’s fine.”

He shifted slightly and allowed the other to use his shoulder as a pillow. Jaejoong smiled contentedly and soon showed signs of drifting off again. After one last glance at his phone, Junsu closed his eyes as well and allowed Jaejoong’s familiar breathing pattern to lull him back to sleep as well.

 

 

 


	5. Chapter 5

 

 

The letters in his book were starting to move over the page as if they had suddenly hopped on a carrousel when a cup of coffee was placed in front of him. Junsu looked up to see the cute waiter that he’d talked to earlier smile at him and smiled back tiredly before rubbing at his face in a valiant effort to get his focus back. The coffee smelled deliciously sweet.

“I didn’t order anything?”

“It has already been paid for. Plus you look like you need it.”

Junsu sighed. His final exams were in a week and he was trying to cram as much as possible into the last couple of days while at the same time ignoring the beautiful weather that was striving to lure him outside. The waiter gave the cup a nudge in his direction.

Junsu took the hint and wrapped his fingers around the cup. “Thank you.”

“Not me you need to thank, that guy over there in the corner ordered it for you,” the waiter was still smiling at him and Junsu wondered, not for the first time that day, if he was being flirted with. He was squinting at the nametag on the waiter’s apron when the words sank in.

“In the corner?” he asked the waiter, Yoochun, the tag read. He probably came across as rather slow, but if the guy was still talking to him when he looked like he had been living on coffee and no sleep for three days (which he had), a stupid question wouldn’t make too much of a difference.

Yoochun raised an eyebrow, but pointed to somewhere behind him. Junsu had to crane his neck to see. The café had gotten pleasantly crowded over the past several hours and it took him a couple of seconds to find the person in question. When he did, he immediately turned back and looked straight in front of him, heart pounding.

Changmin. Just the sight of him had Junsu agitated and nervous, turning the cup around in his hands. As far as he had been able to see, Changmin had been talking with a couple of other guys rather animatedly, and hadn’t been paying any particular attention to him. But he had bought him the coffee that he was currently staring at.

“I see how it is,” Yoochun said with a cheery snort. “Well, if things don’t work out, I slipped my number into your bag two hours ago.” Still smiling, he left to help a group of friends find a table, leaving Junsu to gape at his retreating back. Flirting it had been then.

He tried to go back to studying, he honestly did, but knowing that Changmin was somewhere behind him made it practically impossible. Should he thank him for the drink? He carefully sipped it and was delighted at the chocolaty taste that accompanied the caffeinated drink. Why hadn’t he ordered that before? He hesitated and shifted in his seat a couple of times before turning around carefully, feeling like an undercover spy trying to avoid notice when he had already been spotted.

Changmin was laughing at something one of his friends said and threw an arm over the shoulders of the one closest to him. The four of them looked rather close and Changmin seemed completely at ease and nothing like the cold guy Junsu had met all those weeks ago. He looked good. The guy on his left leaned closer and whispered something and then Changmin was suddenly looking at him, destroying any hope Junsu might have had of secrecy. Awkwardly, he raised his cup and mouthed ‘thank you’. Changmin smiled slightly and nodded, hesitating for a second before another one of his friends drew him back into the conversation with a question. They all laughed. Suddenly feeling very alone, Junsu turned back to look at his text books despondently. After another sip and a sigh, he went back to reading.

\---

A touch to his shoulder startled him out of his studying. He looked up to see Yoochun smiling at him. Did the guy ever look serious?

“We close at five. I still have to clean though, so if you want to stay a bit longer that’s okay.”

Junsu shook his head as he noticed other customers leaving as well. His focus was always better with a slight buzz around him. Yoochun shrugged and moved away. Belatedly, Junsu realised Yoochun had wanted to spent some more time with him. He tried to catch Yoochun’s eyes to apologise or something, but the man seemed unperturbed and was humming a tune while wiping down the tables.

While getting his stuff together he suddenly remembered and turned around to look in Changmin’s direction. The spot was now occupied by a couple, both of them too busy with their phones to look at each other. Junsu bit his lip, unable to decide if he was disappointed or relieved. He must’ve been too caught up with studying to notice them leaving.

“Good luck on your exams,” Yoochun called after him when he walked past, lost in his thoughts.

Junsu almost stumbled, but managed to catch himself on a table. Blushing, he turned around. “Thanks.”

Yoochun smiled knowingly. “I have another shift tomorrow.”

“Okay?” Junsu said, still lost in his embarrassment. He felt like slapping himself only seconds after. Flirting was clearly not a skill he had been born with. Yoochun chuckled and waved him away with good cheer.

Outside, he took a deep breath and a long look at the blue sky. He could feel his resolve to study all day crumbling even further with every white cloud that languidly drifted past. Scrunching his eyes closed he turned and forced himself to start walking in the direction of the library. He still had around two hours before his brain and stomach would team up to absolutely demand food, so that was plenty of time to cram some more.

The dark building soon loomed ahead of him, and Junsu could practically see the droves of desperate students on the inside slowly losing all hope of ever arriving at the start of their summer holidays. He sighed and squared his shoulders.

“Junsu?”

The question startled him and a surprised meep escaped his lips. He turned around only to come face to face with Changmin trying to mask his amusement at Junsu’s expense, and failing.

“Sorry, didn’t mean to scare you,” he said, hiding a smile behind his hand.

Junsu scowled.

“Did you follow me?” He demanded, already regretting even the slightest disappointment he may have felt at not catching Changmin before he left the café.

“What? No, I was going to grab something to eat when I noticed you standing there. I was just wondering if you wanted to join me?”

Junsu narrowed his eyes in distrust. “Why didn’t you go eat something with your friends then?”

Changmin frowned, smile disappearing. “Because they had other plans, not that I owe you an explanation.”

“Well, I have to study,” Junsu said pointedly, although he probably wouldn’t be able to focus after this.

“Fine, whatever.” Changmin said, rolling his eyes. Without further comment he turned around and started walking.

Junsu scowled, wanting to throw something at his retreating back. He really did have to study and Changmin should’ve known. It wasn’t like he had been sitting by himself in the café for fun. Junsu fidgeted, still looking at Changmin who was nearing a corner, long strides showing his annoyance.

Unconsciously, Junsu’s hand slipped into his pocket and around his phone, stroking the corners nervously. As soon as he realised he was doing it, he pulled his hand back as if burned. He hesitated, the library looming ahead of him. Maybe he should’ve been a bit nicer to Changmin just now, he’d only asked him if he wanted to eat something after all. And he had been thinking of contacting Changmin for a while now.

Changmin turned the corner without looking back and Junsu cursed, took one last look at the library and started running. He turned the corner, dodging a couple of pedestrians and saw Changmin a couple of meters ahead.

“Changmin, wait!”

To his surprise, Changmin heard him and actually stopped, turning towards him with a rather surprised look on his face. It quickly turned sour again as Junsu approached him.

“What is it?”

Junsu swallowed, the apology stuck in his throat.

“Why did you buy me a drink?” Junsu asked and immediately wanted to slap himself. That was not what he had been planning on saying.

“Are you serious?” Changmin asked, looking about ready to punch him in the face.

Not knowing how to answer that, Junsu just gave a tiny nod. Changmin’s lips curled up into a sneer, hands now fists at his side and Junsu cringed when he started talking, slightly too loud, drawing the attention of people around them.

“And you accused me of behaving like a six year old? Because I like you, you idiot. I like you even though you never replied to my text and I haven’t seen you in months because Yunho is still convinced I killed your puppy or something, and I promised to stay away. Even though I have far better things to do with my time than think about people who hate me, I still can’t get you out of my head. Because I was and still am convinced that you’d love that drink and maybe things had changed and you’d try it and come to talk to me. What do you want to hear from me?”

Changmin was breathing heavily now, looking hurt and tired and angry and Junsu felt like the biggest asshole in the world. He also didn’t know the answer to Changmin’s question, just that his stomach was tying itself into knots and he kind of desperately hoped it was just because he was hungry.

“Let me buy you dinner,” he said softly, wanting to get away from the curious looks that passers-by were throwing them.

“I don’t need you to repay me for the drink,” Changmin said after a moment of looking at him, carefully devoid of intonation.

Junsu looked away, uncertain. “I just want to buy you dinner…”

It took a few seconds, and then Changmin was shrugging, a modicum of his old self restored. “Fine, I won’t say no to free food.”

He immediately started walking again and Junsu had to jog to catch up, startled by the sudden movement. A couple of turns and they were entering what Junsu supposed had been Changmin’s destination in the first place. It was a small place, cosy, and not too busy.

Changmin sat down, not waiting for Junsu, and started browsing the menu. Hesitantly Junsu placed his bag on the floor next to the table and sat down as well. Changmin didn’t look up.

There was only one menu on their table and Changmin was looking at it rather intently, avoiding Junsu’s gaze, so after a while Junsu spoke up in an effort to break the awkward silence.

“Anything you can recommend?”

His question did have the desired effect of getting Changmin to look up, but Junsu just felt more nervous with the other’s eyes on him, afraid of saying the wrong thing again.

“Yeah sure,” Changmin said.

Junsu looked down at his hands, playing with his fingers nervously. Changmin waved down a waitress and ordered for the both of them. No longer having anything to do except wait for their food, they sat opposite each other awkwardly. Junsu shifted in his seat.

“Why are you here?” Changmin asked suddenly.

Junsu’s head shot up at the question, but he didn’t know how to answer that.

“You dislike me,” Changmin said. It wasn’t a question.

“No, I don’t,” Junsu said, his reply immediate this time.

Changmin snorted in disbelief and looked away, making Junsu blush. An awkward silence fell again.

“You just get on my nerves sometimes,” Junsu said softly.

“So why are you here? You made it pretty clear you wanted nothing to do with me.”

Junsu shook his head.

“I answered your question,” Changmin said, frowning. “What more do you want from me?”

“When did you start liking me?”

Changmin cursed softly and pressed his face into his hands, elbows on the table. Junsu cringed and the silence between them grew heavy again.

He was just about to apologize when Changmin took a deep breath and started talking again, face still hidden in his hands.

“Yunho showed me a picture of Jaejoong when they had been dating for a while. You were in it. He was rambling about how perfect Jaejoong was, how photogenic or something, I don’t really remember, you didn’t look like my type at all, but you kind of stuck into my head.” Changmin sighed, dropped his hands and sat up straight, looking only at the table.

“At some point Yunho started mentioning me meeting the two of you and I couldn’t get it out of my mind. When I finally met you so unexpectedly, I was so annoyed with Yunho and you were just too cute. I hate cute, but I just wanted to hug you, you looked so unhappy.”

Junsu didn’t say anything and Changmin continued after a beat, a note of steel in his voice.

“But you didn’t seem interested in talking to me at all, so I did what I always do; I tried to get under your skin.” He paused for a moment, taking a deep breath. “It didn’t really work out the way I wanted it to.”

Junsu was quiet, too many thoughts and feelings welling up inside him.

Changmin clenched his jaw. “Happy now?”

“Changmin-”

He was interrupted by the waitress bringing them their food. Without waiting on Junsu, Changmin immediately dug in and Junsu watched him for a second before starting on his own meal.

After only one bite he made a surprised sound, and immediately started eating with more enthusiasm. It was really good. Changmin didn’t look up, but Junsu could swear he saw him smile a bit. Ducking his head slightly, he hid his own.

They finished their meals without saying another word, although the silence was a lot more pleasant this time around. Changmin started gathering his stuff, so Junsu got up to pay reluctantly. He had hoped to talk some more. When he came back he was pleasantly surprised to find Changmin waiting for him with his bag in hand.

“Thanks,” Junsu said, still surprised that Changmin hadn’t taken the opportunity to bolt. Changmin nodded and stepped outside.

They walked down the street together, back towards the library. At the corner, Changmin stopped.

“I need to go that way,” he vaguely motioned in another direction. “Good luck on your finals.”

“Changmin,” Junsu stopped him. Changmin waited.

Again, Junsu was unable to form the words he wanted and he just opened and closed his mouth a couple of times. Changmin moved his hand as if to say ‘it’s fine’ and started to walk away. Junsu grabbed his wrist to stop him.

“Changmin-” he started again.

The other looked mildly annoyed now, and pulled his wrist free. “What?”

Junsu saw his expression close off when he didn’t reply, and bit his lip nervously.

“I’m done with your questions for today, Junsu. I’m tired and I want to go home. See you around,” Changmin said and made to leave again.

Junsu stopped him before he could turn away by slipping a hand around his neck. He took one step closer, and pressed his lips against Changmin’s. Changmin made a soft noise, but Junsu had his eyes screwed shut, afraid of his reaction. He didn’t know if it would be good or bad until Changmin relaxed. Arms wrapped around his waist and Changmin started kissing him back and smiled against his lips when Junsu made a small sound. After what seemed like only a moment, he pulled away and Junsu blushed slightly. However, Changmin wasn’t looking too happy, frowning slightly and avoiding his gaze. The fluttery feeling in Junsu’s stomach immediately fell dead.

“Changmin?” Junsu asked, and tried to look him in the eyes.

“Please don’t toy with me,” Changmin said.

Junsu gaped at him, surprised.

“I don’t want to be someone that you to mess around with just because you’re lonely,” Changmin continued, voice hard, but expression vulnerable.

Junsu finally got his mouth to work. “I’m not! Why would you think that?”

Changmin didn’t respond right away, but when Junsu tried to get him to look at him, he finally replied, sounding annoyed. “I was told that you disliked me and that you only talked to me in the first place because you were lonely.”

Junsu froze.

“Who told you this,” he demanded angrily. “It was Yunho, wasn’t it? I’m going to kill him and Jaejoong. Especially Jaejoong, why am I even still friends with him, sticking his nose into other people’s business.”

Changmin looked surprised at his outburst, but didn’t really respond otherwise, doubt still in his eyes. Junsu cringed when he realised that his words could be taken as confirmation.

“It’s not true! Don’t you think that if I was just looking for a bedwarmer I would have found one by now? Yes I was lonely, and yes I wasn’t sure if I liked you since you were so fucking annoying, but I would never do anything like that. Goddamnit, Jaejoong and his fucking mouth. ”

He was so angry with Jaejoong blabbermouthing even after the conversations they had had about Yunho not being Junsu’s best friend and how he therefore was not to be told everything that Junsu told Jaejoong, or Jaejoong’s interpretations thereof, that he didn’t even notice the relief flooding Changmin’s expression because he was too busy dialling Jaejoong’s number.

“I’m glad you didn’t mean for me to be your bedwarmer, even though I was ‘fucking annoying’” Changmin said, on the verge of smiling.

“Oh,” Junsu said, phone already pressed against his ear. Embarrassment and relief flowed through him at the same time.

“Junsu?” Jaejoong asked through the phone. “Is something wrong?”

Changmin tried not to laugh at the sudden change in his expression.

“I’m going to kill you when I get home,” Junsu said coldly and hung up.

“Wanna plot their downfall together?” Changmin said, another question behind his words.

“Sounds like a plan,” Junsu said before he got distracted by his phone ringing. It was Jaejoong calling him back. He ignored the call and turned off his phone. “How about right now?”

“Don’t you have to go back to studying?” Changmin asked, sounding unsure.

He briefly looked in the direction of the library with a guilty expression.

“I think I’m good for today,” Junsu replied, stepping closer to Changmin. He longed to touch him, to reassure himself that things were cleared up now, but they probably had some more talking to do. At least they had a chance now.

Changmin laughed and took his hand. “Let’s go before you change your mind.”

Junsu squeezed his hand softly. “I don’t think I will.”

 

 

 


	6. Epilogue

 

He loved Changmin’s hands in his hair, especially when he was sucking his cock. Changmin wasn’t the most vocal lover, and at the moment Junsu was glad for it, because he didn’t think Jaejoong would appreciate him giving Changmin a blowjob in his brand-new, but still rather empty, walk-in closet. In the near-silence, Changmin’s hands told Junsu what he needed to know, contentedly playing with his hair, grabbing the back of his head in badly concealed need, or fingers pressing into his skin, asking wordlessly for what he wanted.

There wasn’t much room on the floor between the boxes and they were supposed to be hanging out Jaejoong’s clothes, but Changmin had been far too tempting, so here he was, licking and sucking while watching his boyfriend’s reactions closely. He loved the challenge of it, of trying to get Changmin to make a sound, of pushing him past his natural reserve during sex, and he was getting close. Changmin’s breathing was uneven and every time he did the little twist with his hand that Changmin liked, he felt him tense, trying to keep his moans inside.

A sound in the room next to them made Changmin tighten his hands in his hair, and Junsu winced slightly at the pull, before he managed to slap Changmin’s hands away.

“Junsu, stop. Jaejoong and Yunho are in the bedroom,” Changmin whispered when Junsu’s hand continued its teasing strokes, the beginnings of panic in his voice. Junsu felt oddly turned on by the idea that they could be discovered any moment, and wasted no time in taking Changmin back into his mouth. Changmin groaned softly and Junsu smiled around the cock in his mouth in triumph, making Changmin grab his hair again.

His boyfriend was torn between pleasure and worry, his eyes flitting to the closet door from time to time, and every time Junsu would swirl his tongue around the head, or suck harder, to draw his attention back to him.

Junsu could now hear Yunho’s voice as well, and although he could not make out the words, the proximity sent a shiver down his spine. Changmin was less thrilled, however, and tried to push him away again. Deciding to let him, Junsu backed off a little, before licking at the slit unexpectedly, making Changmin gasp deliciously loud.

“Junsu-” The effect was lost when the plea turned into a moan halfway-through with another flick of Junsu’s tongue.

 “Are you guys almost done?” Jaejoong called from the bedroom.         

Changmin froze but Junsu only stopped to wet his finger, seeing his chance with Changmin distracted. His boyfriend took a deep breath and fought to keep his voice in check while answering Jaejoong’s inquiry.

“Why do you have so fucking many clothes?” Changmin replied, tone not nearly as acerbic as it normally would have been, but Jaejoong didn’t seem to notice. Junsu popped his finger out of his mouth and teased Changmin by running it over his sac towards his hole. Changmin managed to scowl and shudder at the same time, while reaching out to grab Junsu’s wrist and stop his progress.

“You better be handling them right,” Jaejoong replied, sounding annoyed. The door handle started to turn and that made even Junsu freeze. Changmin let go of him and tensed as if he was ready to bolt, even with nowhere to run.

“Jae, come on. We’ll finish these boxes and then you can go and help them with your precious clothes.” Yunho sounded tired, which wasn’t surprising. Junsu still remembered Jaejoong’s strong opinions on interior design when they had moved in together, and had to fight a smile. The memory drew him out of his frozen state and as quiet as possible he slowly circled his finger around Changmin’s entrance, knowing the other would be incapable of protesting in any way with Jaejoong this close.

Long moments later, they heard Jaejoong mutter something unintelligible about delicate fabrics before walking away. Changmin sagged in relief and Junsu let the breath he’d been holding escape, not failing to notice the shiver that ran through Changmin. Smirking knowingly, he turned his attention back to the cock in front of him and purposefully blew over it. Changmin groaned softly and lightly pushed at Junsu’s shoulder.

“Are you kidding me?” He whispered while his other hand reached for his pants ineffectively. “They’re right there.”

Junsu’s smirk only grew. “And you’re still hard.”

Changmin opened his mouth in protest, but shut it just as fast when Junsu’s hot mouth closed around him again, and let his head fall back against the wall. Junsu was still rubbing at Changmin’s entrance, but either his boyfriend didn’t care anymore or he was too close to notice. He supposed it was the second when Changmin clenched his hands in his hair convulsively and the first whimper escaped him. His own aching erection twitched in response but they’d have to do something about that later.

As soon as he pressed his finger inside, Changmin froze like he always did. Junsu stopped sucking and let his hand take over, taking the edge off and giving Changmin the chance to stop him. His hips stuttered forward in his grasp, protesting the sudden decrease of stimulation. Changmin groaned. “Please-“

“Minnie?” Junsu asked as quietly as possible, trying to gauge the other’s reaction. He let his thumb caress the slick head, spreading the precome further, still waiting. Changmin moaned softly and pressed one of his hands against his mouth to try and keep the sound inside.

Just when Junsu was about to pull out his finger, Changmin pressed back against it with another small moan, and tried to pull Junsu towards his cock again. For a few seconds Junsu was too shocked to move but then he laughed and went back to work, licking and sucking.

Within seconds, Changmin started to lightly thrust into his mouth, incapable of keeping still and Junsu let go of his hip and let him, focusing instead on the finger that was still inside his boyfriend. He wriggled it carefully and Changmin mewled, thrusting harder. Still amazed that he had gotten permission and that Changmin seemed to be enjoying it for once, Junsu started to slowly move his finger in and out, regretting the fact that they didn’t have any lube and that his mouth was otherwise occupied. With Changmin’s next thrust, he pushed it in a little deeper, searching. Changmin moaned loudly and his hips stuttered before he surged forward. Junsu grabbed his hip with his free hand to steady him and took him down as far as he could, swallowing as he came.

Changmin was breathing hard and keeping his balance by leaning heavily on Junsu’s shoulders while Junsu made sure he had caught everything, tiny licks of his tongue teasing Changmin in his oversensitivity. He moved his finger out as carefully as possible, but it was dry by now and Changmin winced.

“Sorry,” Junsu murmured against his hip, kissing the skin there tenderly. His apology covered more than just that tiny bit of discomfort, but Changmin shook his head, a small blush adorning his cheeks.  As Junsu stood up, he pulled Changmin’s pants up with him and tucked him in, working on the fastening, while Changmin leaned against him, arms wrapping around him. Junsu nuzzled and kissed his neck.

Changmin tipped his chin up to kiss him, surprising Junsu. His boyfriend normally wasn’t the biggest fan of the taste of his own cum, but Changmin’s lips moved steadily against his and he was soon moaning softly, turned on. Changmin pulled away.

“What about you?” he asked, a hand running over Junsu’s back.

“Hmm?” Junsu replied dazedly, already leaning forward for another kiss.

Changmin pressed his leg forward against Junsu’s erection and he shuddered, moving against it instinctively before stopping himself.

“Can wait,” he said, begging for another kiss.

Changmin’s hands slid down to his butt, pulling him forward again. Junsu groaned.

“Sure?” This time he was smirking, nibbling at one of Junsu’s ears.

Junsu forced himself to focus. “Yeah, want you to fuck me.”

This time it was Changmin who groaned.

“Stop right there.”

They both jumped about a feet in the air. Jaejoong was standing behind him, arms crossed in front of him and looking incredibly pissed off. Yunho stood behind him, looking absolutely mortified. Junsu giggled when he saw the exact same expression mirrored on Changmin’s face.

Jaejoong took one look at Junsu mouth and Changmin’s relaxed state and seemed about ready to kill them.

“There had better not be any kind of dubious fluid on my clothes, or even the boxes, or you are both dead.”

For a moment they stared at each other, tension thick in the air, until Junsu starting laughing and licked his lips rather obscenely.

“Don’t worry, I caught it all.”

After a few seconds of shocked silence, Yunho put a pacifying hand on Jaejoong’s shoulder, and looked like he was trying to think of something comforting to tell him, anything that would diffuse the situation, when Jaejoong started laughing while attempting to hide it behind his hand.

“I always knew that mouth was good for something.”

Giving up, he turned around and walked back into their bedroom still laughing, leaving Yunho and Changmin to stare after him, shell shocked.

“You still have to hang out all my clothes, sorted by season and colour this time,” he called after them, making Changmin groan. “Go and wash your hands first. I’m timing your bathroom breaks. Oh, and leave the door open so we can watch you work, while we take a well-deserved break on our new bed.”

 

\---

 

“And you two were complaining about us being too lovey-dovey,” Jaejoong said, still sounding slightly annoyed, but amused at the same time.

They were lying on the bed, todays tasks all finished.

“We’re not lovey-dovey, we just like sex,” Changmin replied with an infuriating smirk, confidence restored. Jaejoong hit his arm.

“I’m glad you didn’t unpack first though.” He shuddered visibly at the thought of the possible damage to his precious clothes. Junsu wondered if Jaejoong always undressed and neatly folded his clothes before having sex with Yunho, or if it was just relative strangers that were the problem. He was about to ask when he noticed that Yunho was doing a rather nice job of pouting.

“What’s wrong?” Jaejoong asked Yunho when he noticed Junsu’s look.

“Nothing,” Yunho said, cheeks colouring red.

Jaejoong narrowed his eyes and that was enough.

“They christened the room for us,” Yunho mumbled.

Junsu burst out into laughter and Jaejoong grinned, wrapping his arms around his boyfriend. “We’ll just have to do that room at least twice to get rid of their cooties.”

Changmin wrinkled his nose but was wise enough to keep quiet this time. Reaching out for his hand, Junsu gave his fingers a gentle squeeze to draw his attention before winking at him.

“Oh no you don’t,” Jaejoong immediately interrupted, knowing him too well. “Go have sex in your own rooms.”

“I don’t know. I think Junsu here just discovered a decidedly exhibitionistic streak in himself,” Changmin replied, baiting Jaejoong. “Did you never walk in on him and one of his previous boyfriends?”

Jaejoong turned to gape at him, shocked, and Junsu could no longer contain his laughter.

“They’re just messing with you, Jae,” Yunho said and gave him a consolatory hug.

Jaejoong didn’t look too sure but allowed Yunho to kiss his worries away. When Jaejoong pulled Yunho on top of him, Changmin was unable to keep quiet any longer.

“I think I need some brain bleach,” Changmin complained, disrupting the moment.

Jaejoong whacked him again. “Hey! You didn’t interrupt your best friends just about to go in for seconds.”

Yunho looked like he hadn’t needed the reminder at all and Junsu couldn’t help but laugh at the face he pulled.

“Your new bed is huge Jae,” Junsu said while bouncing a bit, attempting to change the topic. Yunho looked a bit worried, as if he wasn’t quite sure they had secured everything well enough. The bed held Junsu just fine though and Jaejoong smiled.

“Of course, this way you can sleep over even though we don’t have a guest room.”

Sitting up, Junsu looked at him. “In the same bed?”

Jaejoong sat up as well. “Well, I’m not kicking Yunho out, and the couch is a bit uncomfortable, so it has to be big.”

Junsu wrinkled his nose. “Won’t that be awkward?” He looked at Yunho sideways, and Yunho shrugged noncommittally.

Changmin playfully kicked at Junsu. “You’re not even worried about leaving me all by myself just to sleep next to these two while they have their nightly cuddle session?”

“I’m sure that you, with your high intelligence and brilliant powers of deduction, have realised that we are currently all lying on the same bed, Changmin,” Jaejoong said with a huff and lay down again.

When Yunho didn’t back him up and only looked at Changmin and Junsu doubtfully, Jaejoong huffed again and shuffled towards Junsu to cuddle with him.

Forced to swallow his protest by a nudge from Junsu, Changmin instead moved closer and possessively draped an arm around Junsu’s waist.

“Never thought I’d be lying in the same bed as you,” Changmin said bitterly, looking at Yunho over the heads of their two boyfriends.

“Let’s not think about it too much,” Yunho said with a shudder and lay down next to Jaejoong.

Changmin secretly resolved to find some other way, maybe hanging out with Yunho while Jaejoong and Junsu had their sleepovers, but his thoughts were silenced when Junsu turned a little to smile at him happily, right before Changmin was pushed away by the force of Jaejoong’s palm to his forehead.

“No kissing allowed.”

 

 

  

 


End file.
